Who Does He Think He Is? GOP’S Dan Winslow Is Shaking Things Up
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CLERK-MAGISTRATES: KINGS OF THE COURT POLITICS, IDEAS & CIVIC LIFE IN MASSACHUSETTS Who does he think he is? GOP’s Dan Winslow is shaking things up No easy cure for patronage Lawrence on the mat The Tea Party fl unks history Public sector union tempest commonwealthmagazine.org SPRING 2011 $5.00 99374 PS14592_BL11008_7-75x10-75.qxp:Commonwealth Magazine, 7.75x10.75 2/23/11 7:10 AM Page 1 Coverage from head to toe. Blue Cross Blue Shield for your health and dental. With connected coverage from Blue Cross Blue Shield, your health and dental work together. It’s better, more coordinated protection that also helps you stay well and save money. To learn more about our health and dental plans for your company, talk to your consultant, broker or call 1-800-262-BLUE. And get connected. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. MP26256Recycle01-06_ 22-23 stats 3/22/11 5:53 PM Page 1 WHAT IS THE SIGN OF A GOOD DECISION?® It’s delivering the results that ma er. 2010 was a record year for MassMutual — good news for the policyholders who own our company. Despite challenging times, our solid operating fundamentals helped drive strong earnings, a record surplus of more than $10 billion, and an approved estimated dividend of $1.23 billion1 for our eligible participating policyholders. Beyond providing whole life insurance, retirement services and other nancial products, we strive to provide con dence — so our policyholders can enjoy today while being prepared for tomorrow. Record sales in both whole life insurance and retirement services suggest those e orts have been successful. It turns out upholding our policyholders’ best interests isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also good business. Now in our 160th year, we remain true to the principles that have brought us this far. 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BY PAUL McMORROW 11 | INQUIRIES 18 | STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT 44 | REIGNING SUPREME Clerk-magistrates, with lifetime Public sector pay tenure and no mandatory retirement age, rule the roost in BY BEN FORMAN AND KATIE MCGINN Massachusetts courthouses. BY JACK SULLIVAN 21 | STATE OF THE STATES 54 | NO EASY PATRONAGE CURE Some say Civil Service is the R&D spending way to rid government of patronage hiring. But is the cure BY JACK SULLIVAN worse than the disease? BY BRUCE MOHL 23 | HEAD COUNT 64 | LAWRENCE ON THE MAT The scrappy Merrimack Valley Wireless competition city has never had it easy. These days things are even BY JACK SULLIVAN tougher than usual. BY GABRIELLE GURLEY 25 | WASHINGTON NOTEBOOK Fish fight BY SHAWN ZELLER DISCUSSION 29 | WHAT WORKS 74 | CONVERSATION Jill Lepore says the Tea Party movement has more in com- Piloting global payments mon with religious fundamentalism than with serious consideration of BY PIPPIN ROSS American history. BY MICHAEL JONAS 96 | REAL TALK 85 | ARGUMENT & COUNTERPOINT The state can save millions by putting Labor’s love lost lawyers for the poor on the state payroll, instead of contracting for their BY MICHAEL JONAS services BY JAY GONZALEZ The touted savings are overstated, and the plan conflicts with constitutional separation of powers principles.